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From dividend yield to discounted cash flow: a history of UK and US equity valuation techniques

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  • Janette Rutterford

Abstract

This article explores how, as capital markets developed, equity valuation methods changed. The history of equity valuation is described, from its early origins during the South Sea Bubble, through the new issue boom of the nineteenth century and the stock market booms of the 1920s and 1950s. The moves from dividend yield and asset backing, to earnings yield and then P/E ratios are chronicled. The article compares developments in the UK and the US, in particular the relative slowness of the UK market to adopt US-pioneered techniques such as the P/E ratio, the concept of value versus growth stocks, and using intrinsic value to determine whether shares are cheap or dear. The article concludes with a discussion of the relatively slow introduction of the dividend discount model and of discounted cash flow as equity valuation tools on both sides of the Atlantic.

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  • Janette Rutterford, 2004. "From dividend yield to discounted cash flow: a history of UK and US equity valuation techniques," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 115-149.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acbsfi:v:14:y:2004:i:2:p:115-149
    DOI: 10.1080/0958520042000225745
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    Cited by:

    1. Stefan Behringer, 2016. "The Development of the Net Present Value (NPV) Rule ¨C Religious Prohibitions and Its Evolution," Review of Economics & Finance, Better Advances Press, Canada, vol. 6, pages 74-87, August.
    2. David Le Bris & Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeur, 2009. "A Challenge to Triumphant Optimists? A New Index for the Paris Stock-Exchange (1854-2007)," Working Papers 09-02, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC).
    3. Nicolae BALTE? & Alexandra-Gabriela-Maria DRAGOE, 2018. "Study Regarding The Assessment Of The Position And Financial Performance Of The Companies Through The Capital Market Indicators," Contemporary Economy Journal, Constantin Brancoveanu University, vol. 3(2), pages 5-13.
    4. Toms, J.S., 2010. "Calculating profit: A historical perspective on the development of capitalism," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 205-221, February.
    5. Billings, Mark & Capie, Forrest, 2009. "Transparency and financial reporting in mid-20th century British banking," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 38-53.
    6. Spence, Crawford, 2010. "Accounting for the dissolution of a nation state: Scotland and the Treaty of Union," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 377-392, April.
    7. Janette Rutterford & Dimitris Sotiropoulos & Carry van Lieshout, 2015. "Individual investors and local bias in the UK, 1870-1935," Working Papers 15009, Economic History Society.
    8. Tiago Cardao-Pito & João Silva Ferreira, 2018. "‘Fair Value’ accounting as the normative Fisherian phase of accounting," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 149-179, September.
    9. Wessel M. Badenhorst & Leon M. Brümmer & Johannes H.vH. de Wet, 2016. "Retracted: The Value‐relevance of Equity Accounted Carrying Amounts and Disclosed Fair Values of Listed Associates," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 26(2), pages 177-189, June.
    10. Yuchao Fan, 2022. "Dissecting the dot-com bubble in the 1990s NASDAQ," Papers 2206.14130, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2022.
    11. Emilie Bonhoure, 2021. "An Original Solution to Agency Issues Among PreWWI Paris-Listed Firms : The Statutory Rule of Profit Allocation," Working Papers halshs-03107869, HAL.
    12. Emilie Bonhoure, 2021. "An Original Solution to Agency Issues Among PreWWI Paris-Listed Firms : The Statutory Rule of Profit Allocation," PSE Working Papers halshs-03107869, HAL.
    13. Sylvain Marsat & B Williams, 2013. "Does Price Influence Assessment of Fundamental Value? Experimental Evidence," Post-Print hal-02156599, HAL.
    14. Janette Rutterford & Dimitris P. Sotiropoulos & Carry van Lieshout, 2017. "Individual investors and local bias in the UK, 1870–1935," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 70(4), pages 1291-1320, November.
    15. Garen Markarian, 2018. "The role of Irving Fisher in the development of fair value accounting thought," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 181-190, September.
    16. David le Bris & William N. Goetzmann & Sébastien Pouget, 2014. "Testing Asset Pricing Theory on Six Hundred Years of Stock Returns: Prices and Dividends for the Bazacle Company from 1372 to 1946," NBER Working Papers 20199, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Greene, Catherine, 2019. "Differential information, arbitrage, and subjective value," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101054, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. John Richard Edwards & Trevor Boyns, 2022. "Published Accounts, Stewardship, and Decision Making: A Case Study 1863–1940," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 58(2), pages 300-333, June.
    19. Marc Flandreau & Geoffroy Legentilhomme, 2022. "Cyberpunk Victoria: The credibility of computers and the first digital revolution, 1848–83," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(4), pages 1083-1119, November.

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